Deck 5: Interorganizational Relationships

Question 1

Major reasons for interorganizational collaboration include all of the following except:

A) sharing risks when entering new markets.
B) mounting expensive new programs and reducing costs.
C) enhancing organizational profile in selected industries.
D) interpersonal factors.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following refers to managing the sequence of suppliers and purchasers, covering all stages of processing from obtaining raw materials to distributing finished goods to consumers?

A) Operations management
B) Supply chain management
C) Resource management
D) Variation

Answer 2

B

Question 3

A system formed by the interactions of a community of organizations and their environment is referred to as a(n):

A) interorganizational relationships.
B) organizational ecosystem.
C) collaboration network.
D) institutional environment.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which of the following is not part of the framework of interorganizational relationships?

A) Population ecology
B) Institutionalism
C) Collaborative network
D) Shared competition

Question 5

In this new world, managers think about ____ rather than vertical structures.

A) profit-making
B) stakeholders
C) horizontal structures
D) competition

Question 6

Which of the following is true about the struggle for existence, a principle underlying the population ecology model?

A) Specialists are able to reallocate resources internally to adapt to a changing environment, whereas generalists are not.
B) Generalists are more competitive than specialists in the narrow area in which their domains overlap.
C) The toy company Mattel, which markets a broad range of toys, is considered a specialist.
D) The struggle is most intense among new organizations, and survival frequencies are related to environmental factors.

Question 7

____ is an organization's specific technology, structure, products, goals, and personnel, which can be selected or rejected by the environment.

A) Organizational form
B) Selection
C) Niche
D) Resource-dependence

Question 8

The ____ perspective is when companies join together to become more competitive and to share scarce resources.

A) collaborative-network
B) resource-dependence
C) population-ecology
D) institutional

Question 9

____ focuses on organizational diversity and adaptation within a population of organizations.

A) Collaborative networks
B) Population ecology
C) Interorganizational relationships
D) Institutional perspective

Question 10

In resource dependence theory:

A) A small supplier should count on price competition for locking in accounts.
B) A small supplier should lock in a single large company for the bulk of its sales.
C) Organizations will do whatever is needed to avoid dependence on the environment for reducing uncertainty.
D) Organizations will set up dependencies when they become more self-reliant.

Question 11

The new orientation to other organizations involves this characteristic:

A) equity and fair dealing
B) contract limits the relationship.
C) minimal up front investment.
D) efficiency, own profits.

Question 12

Which theory argues that organizations try to minimize their reliance on other organizations for the supply of important resources and try to influence the environment to make resources available?

A) Interorganization theory
B) Environmental resource theory
C) Resource dependence theory
D) Economic supply theory

Question 13

A basic assumption of the population ecology model is that:

A) management competence is the biggest factor in the survival of organizations.
B) the environment determines which organizations survive or fail.
C) principles of evolution are not applicable to organizations because the fittest don't survive.
D) a community of organizations is a closed system.

Question 14

The adversarial orientation to other organizations involved this characteristic:

A) short-term contracts.
B) long-term contracts.
C) high dependence.
D) business assistance beyond the contract

Question 15

The traditional orientation to other organizations involved this characteristic:

A) long-term contracts.
B) involved in partner's product design and production.
C) legal resolution of conflict.
D) electronic linkages to share key information.

Question 16

Established organizations have a difficult time adapting to a rapidly changing environment because:

A) they don't--that's not a true statement.
B) of heavy investment in plant and equipment and an established viewpoint of leadership that has been successful.
C) when the environment changes, no one could predict that the changes will affect them.
D) leadership could change, but does not want to change.

Question 17

An organizational niche:

A) once found, makes the process of retention occur.
B) is a person within an organization who is highly specialized.
C) is a domain of unique environmental resources and needs.
D) is found only in Japanese organizations.

Question 18

Relatively enduring resource transactions, flows, and linkages that occur among two or more organizations are called:

A) Intranet.
B) interorganizational relationships.
C) resource dependence.
D) institutional environment.

Question 19

The third perspective, which examines how new organizations fill niches left open by established organizations and how a rich variety of new organizational forms benefits society, refers to

A) Population ecology.
B) Resource-dependence theory.
C) Collaborative networks.
D) Institutionalism.

Question 20

All of the following, except ____, are elements of the population ecology model of organizations.

A) retention
B) variation
C) legitimacy
D) selection

Question 21

____ is defined as the general perspective that an organization's actions are desirable, proper, and appropriate within the environment's system of norms, values, and belief.

A) Generalist strategy
B) Legitimacy
C) Niche
D) Collaborative network

Question 22

The institutional view argues that:

A) Organizations do not have legitimacy from their stakeholders.
B) A market-based economy was not constructed in the Soviet Union because such institutions were corrupt.
C) When an organizational field is just getting started, diversity is the norm, but later there is a push for similarity.
D) Organizations have two essential dimensions--institutional and public.

Question 23

The prevailing philosophy is that organizations consider themselves autonomous and separate, trying to outdo other companies so that they can grow and prosper.

Question 24

An event for coercive force is:

A) professionalism.
B) innovation.
C) environmental visibility.
D) political law.

Question 25

Organizations with a wide niche or domain, that is, those that offer a broad range of products and services or that serve abroad market, are:

A) specialists.
B) generalists.
C) niches.
D) legitimate.

Question 26

In population ecology theory, large dependent companies have power over small suppliers.

Question 27

Mimetic forces would include the perspective that:

A) because of heavy interorganizational linkages, organizations are forced to behave similarly in order to maintain productive relationships.
B) political and governmental processes, to which organizations are subjected, force organizations to become similar.
C) in the face of uncertainty, organizations copy or model each other.
D) diversity is maintained in order for organizations to find and maintain a marketing niche.

Question 28

A company may use any or all of the mechanisms of mimetic, coercive, or normative forces to change itself for greater ____ in the institutional environment.

A) profit
B) market share
C) resource dependency
D) legitimacy

Question 29

With coercive forces, the reason for adaptation is:

A) dependence.
B) duty.
C) uncertainty.
D) professionalism.

Question 30

Within business ecosystems managers learn to move beyond traditional responsibilities of corporate strategy and designing hierarchical structures and control systems.

Question 31

The ____ is composed of norms and values from stakeholders.

A) institutional environment
B) population ecology
C) organizational ecosystem
D) institutional isomorphism

Question 32

Which of the following from the institutional view is true about the two essential dimensions of organization?

A) The institutional structure is that part of the organization most visible to the outside public.
B) The public dimension is governed by norms of efficiency.
C) The technical dimension will reflect environmental expectations rather than the demand of work activities.
D) The formal structure and design process is rational with respect to workflow and products.

Question 33

The four perspectives of a framework of Interorganizational relationships include resource dependency, population ecology, collaborative network, and reengineering.

Question 34

Benchmarking is:

A) a mimetic process.
B) a coercive process.
C) inappropriate, because it results in copyright infringement.
D) required by law.

Question 35

In the changing role of management, managers think about vertical processes rather than horizontal structures.

Question 36

Institutional similarity would include the perspective that:

A) common structures emerge among organizations in the same field.
B) common training of professionals (managers) results in common analytic processes among organizations in the same field.
C) divergent structures are driven among organizations in the same field for the sake of diversity.
D) divergent analytic processes among organizations in the same field emerge because of managers' training is widely varying functional areas and varying degree programs.

Question 37

____ are pressures to change to achieve standards of professionalism and to adopt techniques that are considered by the professional community to be up to date and effective.

A) Coercive forces
B) Mimetic forces
C) Normative forces
D) Legitimacy forces

Question 38

The social basis for normative forces is:

A) legal.
B) culture.
C) moral.
D) diversity.

Question 39

Coercive forces result in:

A) efficiency.
B) professionalism.
C) effectiveness.
D) the appearance of legitimacy.

Question 40

An example of mimetic force is:

A) reengineering.
B) accounting standards.
C) pollution controls.
D) consultant training.

Question 41

The institutional perspective explains why organizational diversity continuously increases with the appearance of new organizations filling niches left open by established companies.

Question 42

Mimetic forces refer to the similarity that is brought between organizations from environmental influences such as governmental laws and legislative requirements.

Question 43

A niche is a domain of unique environmental resources and needs.

Question 44

In the population ecology perspective, generalist and specialist strategies distinguish organizational forms in the struggle for survival.

Question 45

The population ecology perspective claims that large companies cannot adapt to meet a changing environment, so new companies emerge with the appropriate form and skills to serve new needs.

Question 46

Variation, formation, and selection are the stages in the process of change in the environment.

Question 47

The population-ecology model is developed from theories of natural selection in biology, and the terms retention and variation are used to refer to the underlying behavioral processes.

Question 48

Generalists are generally more competitive than specialists in the narrow area in which their domains overlap.

Question 49

Many companies are changing from a partnership orientation mindset to a traditional adversarial.

Question 50

Given their flexibility, specialists are able to reallocate resources internally to adapt to a changing environment, whereas generalists are not.

Question 51

In the positive view of partnerships, dependence on another company is seen to increase risk rather than reducing it.

Question 52

The resource dependence perspective argues that while organizations may attempt to control environmental resources, they also try to maintain their independence.

Question 53

Institutional similarity is the emergence of a common structure and approach among organizations in the same field.

Question 54

Resource-dependence management refers to managing the sequence of suppliers and purchasers.

Question 55

Collaboration is being practiced as companies join together to become more competitive as a block.

Question 56

Because of the diversity of products, services, and customers, generalists are able to reallocate resources internally to adapt to a changing environment, whereas specialists are not.

Question 57

Legitimacy is defined as the general perception that an organization's actions are desirable, proper, and appropriate within the environment's system of norms, values, and beliefs.

Question 58

The population ecology focuses on organizational diversity and adaptation within a population of organizations.

Question 59

The population ecology perspective tells us that even institutionalized organizations like McDonald's are not permanent in the long run.

Question 60

The major reasons for collaboration are sharing risks when entering new markets, mounting expensive new programs and reducing costs, and enhancing organizational profile in selected industries or technologies.

Question 61

We have seen, in this country, a history of powerful organizations exploiting the dependence of small companies. Would you anticipate an end to this phenomenon? Why or why not?

Question 62

Why is the following question asked, in the context of a discussion on interorganizational relationships: "Is competition dead?"

Question 63

Does the desire for legitimacy result in organizations being more similar or being more different? Take a position, and defend your position.

Question 64

Identify a firm in each stage of the process of ecological change: variation, selection, and retention. Explain why you classified each firm as you did.

Question 65

How have manager's viewpoints and focuses changed in this new world?

Question 66

Discuss how the adversarial versus partnership orientations work among students in class. What carryover from the classroom settings at your university will help or hinder interorganizational relationships you may be managing in the future?

Question 67

Describe the different strategies when organizations are struggling for existence.

Question 68

List the characteristics of the traditional theory of organizational relationships.

Question 69

When the computer industry first reached the everyday consumer, Commodore computers were extremely popular, and were the first computer ever purchase by many people. As other personal computers such as Apple and IBM entered the marketplace with word processing, data base programs, and a few games, Commodore kept its focus on games. From the perspective of the population ecology, explain what happened to these organizations over the long run, and why.

Question 70

When organizations become aware of resource dependence and begin to develop strategies to reduce their dependence on the environment, what alternatives would be considered? Explain at least two different approaches.

Question 71

The outcome of mechanisms of mimetic, coercive, or normative forces is that organizations become more heterogeneous, to reflect the natural diversity among managers and environments.

Question 72

Define supply chain management. What role does the supply chain play in organizations?

Question 73

What is an "organizational ecosystem?" How does this concept impact the changing role of management?

Question 74

Develop your own explanation/theory as to why organizations today find collaboration as important as competition, and why they have a tendency to take on similar characteristics. Would not collaboration be enhanced just as easily with organizations that had different characteristics?

Question 75

Normative forces are pressures to change to achieve standards of professionalism and to adopt techniques that are considered by the professional community to be up to date and effective.

Question 76

Coercive forces mean that organizations change to achieve standards of professionalism.

Question 77

Are the use of management "fads" any different, in your opinion, from the pursuit of legitimacy through mimetic processes? Discuss your view.

Question 78

What kind of education and training do you think would help prepare you for the reality of being a manager who has to manage a set of interorganizational relationships, beyond managing internal affairs of your own company?

Question 79

Describe the framework of interorganizational relationships, using the following two questions to help guide your answer: If organizational relationships are competitive, under what perspectives are the organization types similar versus dissimilar? If organizational relationships are cooperative, under what perspectives are the organization types similar versus dissimilar?

Question 80

Why is the mindset in U.S. companies changing away from a traditional adversarial relationship with other companies?